


Better to Give Than to Receive

by Chash



Series: Helping Hands [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, F/M, Friends With Benefits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 11:20:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6751867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke means to give Bellamy a coupon book with chores she'll do for him for his birthday. It's cute, she figures.</p><p>She actually gives him a coupon book for sexual favors. She goes with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better to Give Than to Receive

It's an impulse buy; Clarke is getting decorations for the party and sees the coupon display, a bunch of colorful little booklets called _Everyday Favors_. She flips through one, grins at the selection, and puts it back, carefully selects the one with the best color scheme. Aesthetics are important; it needs to match the wrapping paper she used. She figures it'll make Bellamy smile, and she's always good with random things that make her roommate smile.

She tapes it to the outside of his actual present (fancy booze, as usual) and, as she hoped, he smiles when he sees it.

"A coupon book? Really?"

"What, you don't like it?"

He glances through the book, frowning a little. "You really want me to use these?" he asks, giving her a look she can't read.

"It _is_ your birthday."

He clears his throat. "Yeah, uh--it is my birthday." With another inscrutable look, he puts the booklet into his pocket, strangely careful, but she can see him checking it throughout the party, flipping through and glancing at her. She knew he thought her room needed to be cleaned, but she didn't think he'd be _that_ interested. He definitely likes it more than the booze, and it's really fancy booze.

They send everyone home around midnight, and Clarke collapses onto the couch next to Bellamy with a groan. "I'm not doing that again for at least a year."

"So we're not having birthday parties for me every week? That's a letdown. I have birthdays all the time."

"Dick. You have fun?"

"Yeah." He has the coupon book out again. "So, uh, when can I start cashing in on these?"

"When I'm conscious," she says, yawning. "You cannot possibly want to make me--" He tears one out and hands it to her. _This coupon good for one back rub_. "You want a back rub?"

"It never says who's giving the back rub."

"You want to use a coupon to give _me_ a back rub?"

"It looks like you need a back rub," he says, shrugging. "Start small, right?"

"I'll owe you one," Clarke says, because a massage really does sound good. She's tired, and Bellamy has the best hands ever.

"Yeah, uh, don't worry," he says, with a cryptic smile. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to come out ahead."

*

For the first few days, she's expecting him to bust out a coupon at any moment. The day after the party, she figures he'll make her do all the vacuuming. After dinner, she assumes he'll cash in on her doing the dishes. He seemed excited, and there are so many things he could make her do. But he keeps just not mentioning it, and she doesn't see the coupon book again for almost a week. When she does, it's Friday, and he comes home, slumps down next to her and says, "So, seriously, the coupon book?"

"What about it?"

He looks at her, and she looks back, cocking her head with curiosity. He huffs, pulls a card out of his pocket and hands it to her.

_This coupon good for thirty minutes of oral sex._

Clarke blinks a few times, because--she didn't see that one. And she didn't see the massage one either, come to think of it. She saw shit like dishes and cleaning her room and making dinner. And she can't even _blame_ Bellamy, because she gave him the book, and he's asked her like five times if he can really use the coupons, so it's not like he wasn't trying to figure out if she was really offering.

And she said she was, and now she can either say _I didn't know that was an option_ or she can--

She can blow him.

"Are you gonna time me?" she asks.

"It did feel kind of weird," he says. "Like, am I marking down how long it takes and if I come in under half an hour I get to use it again? Do I keep a running tally?"

"Yeah, that seems wrong. So, just one orgasm?" she asks. "I give really efficient head."

"You don't have to," he says, quickly. "I just, uh--fuck, I had a bad day, I wouldn't mind--"

"Yeah, of course," she says. "Where do you want to be?"

His tongue darts out to wet his lips, like he still hadn't really been expecting her to agree. Maybe she shouldn't have, but--it's just a blow job, right? She's given plenty of blow jobs. Just because she's never given him one doesn't mean it's going to be difficult. Bellamy's hot, and she likes him, and she's pretty sure he has a great dick. It'll honestly be fun. And he clearly needs it.

"Uh, bed, I guess," he says, and she follows him into his room. It's awkward for a second, and then she gives him a gentle shove. 

"Seriously, bed. Get as naked as you want. It's _your_ coupon."

He snorts. "You're making this really sexy for me."

"I can pull up some porno music on my phone."

He unbuttons his shirt and shrugs it off, and then pulls his undershirt over his head. Shirtless Bellamy is nothing new--he sleeps in pajama pants and nothing else, and he never bothers getting dressed beyond that point until noon or so on weekends--but it's still always nice to see. He's all smooth, firm muscle and perfect bone structure; Clarke's a big fan. 

"Do you already have porno music saved on your phone, or are you going to YouTube?" he asks, fingers dropping to the button on his slacks and getting it undone. Clarke tries not to stare, but--she's never seen him actually _naked_ , and she wants to.

"I was going to go to YouTube," she says. "But you seem to have it covered."

She has to stare, just a little, once his boxers come off, because--okay, Raven has slept with Bellamy, and told Clarke a few details, mostly _great with his mouth_ and _it's definitely true about guys with big hands, in his case_ , but she still wasn't quite prepared for Bellamy actually naked, dick soft but still huge between his legs, making her mouth water.

There was a time, in college, when her girlfriend tried to convince her she was really gay, and the whole bisexuality thing was just social conditioning. And, god, was she wrong. Clarke is so, _so_ bi.

"My eyes are up here, you know," he says, but he sounds amused.

"Yeah, but I see those all the time."

He laughs and stretches out on the bed, wrapping one hand around himself, almost lazy. It makes heat rush between Clarke's legs; it should be illegal, how hot he looks.

"I thought I was doing the work here," she manages, even though it feels like her mouth is full of cotton.

He pulls back, laces his fingers together instead and slides them behind his head. She should take a picture, it's that good. "Yeah? Then go ahead."

The weirdest part is honestly _starting_ with blowing him. Clarke's used to some kissing and groping first, and going from zero to oral is new and a little weird. But Bellamy's half hard from his own fingers on his cock, and her mouth is watering at the thought of tasting him, so she figures she can make it work.

"Tell me if I'm doing anything you don't like," she says. "Gotta make sure you get your coupon's worth."

"Yeah," he says, voice already a little husky. His fingers tangle in her hair and it's hot enough all on its own that she can forget how weird it is. She's blowing her best friend, but--well, it's going to be really fun.

She wraps her own fingers around him, getting a feel for him in her hand. He's thick and firm, getting harder in her grip, and she feels a thrill in her stomach. It's not like it's _difficult_ , getting a guy turned on. She's touching his dick; she'd be insulted if it wasn't making him hard. But this is _Bellamy_ , and the knowledge that he's into this makes her feel like her whole body is lighting up.

"Been a while," she tells him. "Let me know if I do anything wrong."

"Clarke--" he starts, but she slides her lips over the head of his cock and he cuts himself off with a harsh gasp. 

It's been a year since she sucked anything like a dick, and even that was a strap-on, because her ex had a thing for seeing Clarke on her knees with her mouth full. She didn't really have to worry about technique with that. Interacting with a real dick is more skill-intensive, but she's still good at it, even though she's rusty. He's too large to take his whole length in her mouth, not without more practice, but she teases the crown with her tongue, works the base with her hand, and his fingers tighten in her hair as praise drops out of his mouth, so she figures she's doing fine.

It's probably been less than fifteen minutes when he tugs her hair gently and says, "Hey, I'm getting close." 

"I can swallow," she says, wetting her lips. Her mouth is heavy with the taste of him.

He groans, drops his head back on the pillow, looking and sounding wrecked. "Up to you. Whatever is going to be awesome. I really don't care."

She leans back down, stays on him as he comes, and lets him pull her up when he's finished. She half expects a kiss, but he just tucks her into his side and nuzzles her hair.

"Good?" she asks, sliding one arm around him.

"Fucking perfect." He's quiet for a second, but then he adds, with deliberate casualness, "I think that was maybe ten minutes. I've got twenty more minutes of oral, if you want me to go down on you."

"You know these coupons aren't for me, right?" she asks, even as she aches for it. She needs to get off, she's so wet, and his mouth between her legs sounds perfect. So much better than going back to her room and taking care of herself.

"I'm pretty sure we've talked about how much I like eating girls out," he says, stroking his hand up and down her back. "If you want--"

"Yeah, I want," she says.

He rolls over so he's on top of her, looks for a second like he wants to kiss her too. But instead he just says, "Cool," and slides down to pull her jeans off.

*

Clarke has never really been a casual sex person. For whatever reason, she always assumed it would be more difficult than a relationship, mostly because all her relationships have honestly been very low-effort, at least for her. Her previous girlfriends and boyfriends have always made the first move, and when she has casual flings, it's because someone else flirts first. Proactively finding hookups always seemed like a lot of work.

She's not sure how to classify whatever she and Bellamy are doing. Technically, she started it, because she gave him the coupon book, but she hadn't _known_. And he's the one who cashed in the blow job, instead of assuming it was a gag gift.

Not that she minds. It was awesome. But she doesn't know where they go from here, and that's kind of--it makes her nervous and excited all at once, a giddy awareness that he could ask her for something any time that has her getting wet every time he walks into the room. They've only hooked up once, and she already can't wait for the next time.

On her way home on Monday, she stops by the store where she bought the book and checks them again. They're all the same on the front, but she checks the back and sees that the one she bought does say _Coupons for Lovers_ , and the one she looked at before is _Coupons for Parents_. Which, seriously, is the kind of thing to put on the _front_ of your product. If she'd actually been a child, this would be awkward.

Her mouth goes dry as she checks what she _actually_ gave him. Some of them are the same, cooking meals and doing dishes, but there are plenty more that she never would have expected. He can ask her for lap dances and strip teases, gets to tie her up, pick whatever position he wants for sex, ask her to take a bubble bath with him or a shower. The options range from foot rubs to public sex, and Clarke has absolutely no idea which of them he's going to use. 

But she really wants to find out.

"Do we need to talk about this?" he asks on Tuesday. He's making dinner while she works on her laptop.

"What?"

"The coupons."

"Why?"

He huffs. "Look, I know you just bought it, so--"

"So there's nothing in there I'm opposed to," she says, truthfully. While she was at the store, she checked, just to make sure. It wasn't _intentional_ , but--if Bellamy's interested, she's not actually upset about how it worked out.

"Really," he says, dubious.

"Nope."

"Okay," he says, and after dinner, he gives her the _This coupon good for one romantic bubble bath_ card.

"Huh," she says.

"You said you'd do any of them."

"I'm just surprised this is one you're interested in."

He shrugs, a little awkward. "Apparently we have an amazing bathtub, and I've never had one of those before. I don't know. I assume you can teach me the secrets of an awesome bubble bath."

He's got a ton to do, heading into the end of the school year, so she's not surprised to find he's feeling particularly in need of stress-relief. And she does have some bubble bath and stuff.

"Sure. You do the dishes, I'll get it ready?"

"You have to get it ready?"

"I'm not slacking on these. I'm serious about fulfilling my coupon obligations."

He snorts. "My hero." But then he offers her a small, real smile. "Thanks, Clarke."

She gives him an impulsive kiss on the cheek. It's not unheard of for them, but it's not common either. "No problem."

Clarke doesn't take baths very often, just when she's had a really bad day, or she's alone and feels like unwinding, but it's not like it's rocket science, putting together a romantic bath. She finds her bubble bath and some candles, makes sure the bathtub is fairly clean and ready for two people.

Bellamy comes in as she's finishing up, already tugging his shirt off. "Fancy," he remarks. "Very romantic."

"I'm just doing what the coupon tells me."

"I appreciate your dedication. What do I do?"

"Do you want candles or is that weird?"

"Full experience, Clarke, come on. Pull out all the stops."

"Then you can light the candles while I get the bath going."

It is a little weird, directing him into the water and settling in on top of him. They'll cuddle on the couch sometimes, but naked in a bath is new territory for her with anyone, let alone her roommate. 

"Okay, I didn't think this through," he admits, and it breaks the tension. Clarke relaxes against his chest, and he winds his arm around her. "I should have gone with a bathing suit."

"It's not romantic if you're wearing a bathing suit. Listen to the card, Bellamy."

"Uh huh." He sighs. "I figured it would be relaxing."

"So _relax_. I don't mind if if you get turned on, it's not like I don't know about your dick now. Did today suck?"

"I still hate Principal Sydney. But--it's a good school and they're good kids. I like working there. I just wish the administration wasn't full of assholes. She's ruining my life."

"Yeah," she agrees, cuddling a little closer and tangling her fingers with his over her stomach for good measure. She hasn't had a good cuddle in a while either; they might as well both enjoy it. "You're doing a good job."

"Thanks." He presses his lips to her shoulder. "So, what do you do in a bubble bath?"

"Usually I'm alone. I read or listen to music sometimes. Get myself off."

He tenses, but just for a second, and then he says, "That one sounds good."

"For you or me?"

"Both." He brushes his nose against the hollow of her neck, making her shiver and press closer. "It is romantic, right?"

"You don't have to," she says, but his hand is straying down, and she's already parting his legs for him. He doesn't _have_ to, but she wouldn't mind at all.

"Trust me, I'll feel better. You can get me after."

"Should have just used one of the sex ones," she murmurs.

"They'll keep." He hesitates. "Can I?"

"I hate when hot guys get me off. It's the worst." She guides his hand down. "Don't stop."

He gets her off twice with his fingers, and she returns the favor with her own. They don't talk about it, but he looks better after, and she's pretty sure he does too.

It's a great idea; she can't believe she didn't think of it sooner.

*

He uses roughly one coupon a week, although after the bubble bath, he sticks to the sex ones. He uses _This card good for sex in a position of the giver's choosing_ card to get her to ride him on the couch, and the _This card good for sex in a public place_ at the bar one Friday night. She thinks when the school year ends, he might stop, but he doesn't, and it would be a lie if she said she wasn't relieved. She's gotten used to regular orgasms and the overall increased affection; the two of them snuggle more, and Bellamy's casual with his touches, putting his arm around her waist or pressing his lips to her shoulder or the crown of her head whenever he feels like it.

Raven's the first of her friends to notice something's up.

"You've got a hickey on your shoulder," she says, and Clarke glances down to see the mark of Bellamy's lips where her shirt has slipped. "Since when are you getting laid?"

It's just the two of them hanging out while Raven waits for Gina to get off shift at the bar, so it feels safe to say, "Since a few days after Bellamy's birthday."

Raven's eyes widen. "Shit, you guys finally figured that out?"

"We both knew how sex worked," she says, dry. But she knows what Raven is thinking, so she takes a long drag of cider and says, "It's just sex, Raven."

"Just sex," she repeats. She does not sound impressed. "How'd that happen?"

Honestly, the situation is ridiculous enough that Clarke could probably use some feedback on it. "I got him one of those coupon books for chores for his birthday? But I got him the wrong one by accident, and I didn't notice. So instead of, like, _I'll clean my room_ and _I'll vacuum_ , it's, like, _I'll blow you_."

Raven chokes on her gin. "Jesus. And he actually tried to redeem one? He didn't think it was a joke?"

"He asked like five times if he could really use them. I couldn't figure out why he was making such a big deal about it, and then he gave me the oral one."

"And instead of being like, shit, I didn't mean to give you that, you sucked his dick."

"I told him it was okay!" she protests. "And it was. It's not like I didn't enjoy it. So--yeah. We've been having sex like once a week."

"And it's good?"

"You slept with him, don't you know?"

"It's either that or I actually start ranting about how fucking insane the whole situation is, and I'm trying to wait until I'm drunker."

"It's just--" Clarke starts, and groans and puts her head down on the bar. "It's so weird."

"What happens when he runs out of coupons?"

She's been pretty deliberately not thinking about that very question, because she's definitely going to miss it. And a part of her honestly thinks maybe they won't stop, which she's thinking about even less, because she doesn't know how to make the jump from coupon sex to non-coupon sex. They have such a good excuse.

None of those are good things to tell Raven, so she just says, "I don't know," and Raven shakes her head.

"Even for you guys, this is a lot."

Clarke clinks her bottle against Raven's glass. "Well, you know us. Overachievers."

*

Two weeks after the Raven conversation, Clarke has the absolute worst day. Work sucks, her mother calls and they get into a fight about her grandmother's birthday, and he's tired and grumpy and in desperate need of affection and relaxation. So when, an hour after dinner, Bellamy's showed no signs of redeeming any coupons, she gives in and says, "Okay, look, I know I don't have a coupon book, but--"

He looks startled. "What?"

"I had a shitty day, will you just--"

He tugs her into his arms without hesitation, lips brushing against her hair. "Yeah, I--of course. What do you need?"

"I don't know," she says, but it's a lie. She closes her eyes and says, "Can we just make out? And go from there?"

When his breath catches, she hears it in his chest, but he pulls her closer too. They haven't kissed at all, not on the mouth, but it's always Clarke's favorite way to unwind. "Yeah," he says. "No problem."

He tilts her chin up with a gentle brush of his fingers, and then his mouth is on hers, firm and warm, familiar after all the other places she's felt it. He kisses like she thought he would, warm and sure, affection in every swipe of his tongue and caress of his fingers against her jaw, and she melts into him, losing herself in pleasure. He presses her onto her back slowly, taking care to lay her out on the couch, and crowds on top of her. He doesn't try to take it any further, though, just keeps on kissing her, deep and long, even as she feels him getting hard against her thigh.

"Do you want--" he starts, after what feels like forever, but it's between kisses, like he doesn't want to even breathe.

"Just this," she says, and he breathes, "Good."

She's not sure how long it lasts, but when he finally stops, her mouth is swollen and she her lips feel numb, and she refuses to let him go, wraps around him and holds on.

"Are we sleeping on the couch?" he asks, but he's snuggling in close, wrapping her up like he's never planning to let go.

"I'm comfortable," she says. Honestly, she never wants to be anywhere else.

"I was just making sure." He presses his lips to her temple. "Go to sleep, Clarke."

When she wakes up, he's still wrapped around her, hair falling into his face, expression soft in sleep. She pushes his curls back without thinking and it occurs to her, for the first time, that this might really be a problem.

*

On Saturday, she goes and buys another copy of the coupon book, and she makes a spreadsheet of which coupons he's used and which he has left, because that's who she is, honestly. He hasn't used any of the non-sex ones, aside from the back rub, so he still could make her mow the lawn or do the dishes or something. He only has three sex ones left: strip tease, tying her up, and thirty minutes of doing whatever he wants to do with her breasts. There's no rhyme or reason to how he uses them, from what she can tell; she doesn't know if he's saving the best for last or doesn't actually want to do any of those or what.

She hopes he's going to use them all.

That night, he cashes in strip tease, and it ends with her naked in his lap, making out desperately as she fumbles to get him out of his own clothes. It's the first time he's fucked her since she realized she really, really doesn't want this to end once he runs out of coupons, and it's overwhelming, the feel of him inside her, his fingers tracing her skin, the kissing neither of them seems to know how to stop now that they started.

"Fuck, you're gorgeous," he breathes, and she bites back on the urge to list all her other sterling qualities, all the reasons he should just keep her. 

"You're not bad yourself," is what she actually says, and when he tugs her back to his bed after they're done, she curls in close and lets herself believe.

When she wakes up, she's alone, but there's an envelope with _Redeem me_ written on it in Bellamy's neat hand on the pillow next to her. She opens it up and finds the _This coupon is good for one romantic dinner_ coupon inside. He's crossed off _dinner_ and written _breakfast_ over it, with a heart.

She swallows, grabs one of his shirts and tugs it on, not bothering with any other clothing. He's in the kitchen, drinking coffee and reading on his Kindle, jiggling his leg and looking up every few seconds, all nervous energy. It makes her heart swell, and she holds up the coupon, smirking.

"You make romantic breakfasts now?"

"Yeah, I'm going all out. I went and bought bacon and everything. I was hoping you wouldn't wake up while I was gone, and then I got back and was kind of disappointed you hadn't."

"You could have just gotten me."

"Yeah, but--" He huffs. "It was a gesture. It doesn't work as well if I wake you up and tell you to come talk to me."

She puts the card down on the table, sits down in his lap and kisses him. He kisses back, instant, arms around her, and Clarke laughs into it. "It was a nice gesture."

"Fuck, Clarke, I've been going crazy," he says, trailing his mouth down her neck. "I didn't--I thought you were trying to tell me something with the coupons and then you were so fucking normal about it and I couldn't figure out--"

She drops her face onto his shoulder, cheeks heating up. "I, um. I gave you the wrong book."

He tenses, and she kisses the junction of his neck and shoulder, trying for reassurance. "What?"

"There were a bunch of different coupon books at the store, I thought they were all the same book in different colors, but, yeah. I accidentally got the couples one. I couldn't figure out why you were checking to make sure I didn't mind if you made me clean my room."

"Jesus," he groans. "I can't believe I--"

She kisses him on the mouth this time. "I would have told you if I didn't want to," she assures him. "You checked. A lot. I didn't know what you were checking on at first, but--I wanted it. All of it." She wets her lips, smiles. She feels sure. "I want _you_."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She leans in for another kiss, longer this time. "I was freaking out about you finishing the coupons and having to stop."

"Me too." 

"So, are you going to make me breakfast?"

He laughs. "Yeah, I guess I am. And I've got two more coupons to use. If I don't have to save them."

"Save them?"

"To keep it going as long as possible."

"You can do pretty much anything you want to me whenever you want," she says, taking his hand and sliding it up her leg. "No excuses necessary."

"Fuck." He shoots her a grin. "How about a romantic lunch later, and I get to do whatever I want to your breasts for half an hour now?"

"We've been officially together for less than five minutes and you're already trying to get out of honoring your coupons," she says, shaking her head as she gets out of his lap and heads back to the bedroom. "Shittiest boyfriend ever."

He wraps his arm around her waist and presses a kiss to her temple. "I promise I'll make it up to you. You know I'm good for it."

She has to smile. "Yeah. I know you are."

**Author's Note:**

> Bellamy POV [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5691655/chapters/17393125) and follow-up fic [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8721106/chapters/20531392)!


End file.
